Winter
by futuristic republic
Summary: After the rebellion Peeta and Katniss go on to live their lives; they get married and have children. What happens when they find out that Snow is not dead and is a threat to their family? Will they retaliate? Will it be as destructive as the rebellion? Rated M for language and suggested themes. Katniss and Peeta. Post-Mockingjay.


**A/N:** **Hi all, thanks for taking the time to read this. It's my first fan fic and I'm contemplating the idea of making this into a full story instead of a one-shot. I've read many Hunger Games stories and am yet to come across a story where Snow is still alive. Feedback will be greatly appreciated. **

I submerge my body into the water and immediately feel cool relief. I open my eyes under the clear water to be blinded by the brilliant sun shining through. It's moments like these that I wish I could breathe underwater; but as reality hit me, I surface, grasping for air. Carelessly, I float on the lake for what seems like hours until I hear footsteps crumpling the fallen leaves. My instincts tell me to get out of the lake and run but my subconscious reminds me that I need not run anymore; I am not being hunted, I am no longer anyone's prey.

I drop my legs to touch the bottom of the shallow part of the lake and slowly opened my eyes. The sun was still burning brightly. I turn around just in time to see the man I love break through into the clearing. His face doesn't hold his usual smile; it is replaced by a blank expression that holds an emotion that I can't quite place. I jump out of calmness of the water. Immediately, I know something is wrong.

"Peeta?" I call out.

"Katniss," he breathes as he pulls me into his strong arms.

I look up at him and his jaw contorts as his blue eyes bear into mine. "What is it Peeta?"

"Katniss…." He begins and lets out a heavy sigh as a lone tear makes its journey down the side of his left cheek. "…he's not dead".

Instantly, my mind questions who he was talking about and it is not long before I realise that there is only one person who Peeta could be so devastated to know is alive. It is the man who inflicted so much pain through his selflessness and greed; he took the lives of many and those that I love. I feel my body go numb and I slump down to the grass as Peeta falls with me. I feel nauseous and my hands go to my throat to stop myself from throwing up.

My body is uncontrollable as I begin to sob and then I start to scream. "HOW?!" Peeta is silent. All of the pain that I had stopped feeling after reconciling with myself has returned.

Pure evil has returned and I smell the smell of fresh roses and blood that comes with it.

I thought we were free, liberated from Snow's dictatorship. So much has changed since the rebellion, after the death of Snow. Peeta and I did in fact grow back together, it took a while for things to fall into place, but they eventually did. He proposed to me, I said yes and I told him that I loved him, we got married and we had children.

I stop my broken sobs and turn to Peeta. _We had children_. I repeat it again and again in my head. This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening, I tell myself.

Peeta's eyes are laced with plain fear as he understands what I am thinking; Kane and Scarlett, brother and sister. The only things in the world more important than our own beings – they are our life.

Alarmed and voice raised, I question, "Peeta, where are they?!"

"Safe" was the response. I wipe his cheek and he kisses my forehead as I rest against his chest. He holds me until his arms start to hurt. The bright sky has turned black with clouds.

I pull myself away from him, "We'd better start heading back," I motion to the sky.

Wordlessly, he stands and pulls me up; we begin walking towards the forest. I stop walking as sudden realisation hits me "Peeta, do you realise that we would be his first targets?"

"Yes"

I stare ahead blankly.

"That's why we have to be prepared,"

"For what?"

"To fight back," he pauses before continuing, "we can't make the same mistake that we made last time, what happened back in the rebellion wasn't enough to end it, we have to finish what we started". There was determination in his eyes, "we have more to think about this time".

I close my eyes. I didn't want to play this game again. "Peeta, I don't think I can do this again,"

"We don't have a choice. We have to protect our children," he responds.

Hand in hand, we begin to walk again. When we are at the fence, Peeta lifts up the wire and I crawl underneath. I wait for him on the other side as he joins me. As we make the silent journey to our house in the victor's village, I start to find a reason to doubt this whole situation, maybe there's a way that it's not true.

"Peeta, how do you know that he's alive?"

"Gale told me,"

I look at him angrily. We still haven't spoken since the rebellion. "What?" I bark.

He sighs at me knowingly with a hint of a smirk on his face. I don't know why it's there, maybe because he got the girl that Gale never could.

"This morning after dropping the kids off at school, I came home and saw the post man delivering the mail." He looks up at me to make sure that I am following before continuing. "He gave me the mail and as I went through it, I noticed that one was handwritten; and on the back, the sender was Gale Hawthorne. It was addressed to you but I was worried that what was in the letter was some sort of plea to get you back. I was wrong. But in hindsight, I wish that it was – it would have been the least of our problems." Peeta trails off.

"And," I prompt.

"Gale said that Snow didn't actually die when you shot him – it was his genetically modified clone. His clone was programmed to die of some disease regardless; tuberculosis I think it was?"

"Well isn't that fucking humane," my voice is full of sarcasm.

"Very, and I think it may have been naïve of us to believe that we could get rid of him so easily. He is smarter than we gave him credit for. I mean, in the end, we got rid of Coin for him and gave him an escape route."

It is only now that I realise that we were so foolish.

"What else did the letter say?"

"Snow has been hiding in District 2 in a previously undiscovered area ever since. Gale works with Paylor's team at the Capital headquarters now and received information that Snow was still alive and after investigating, they found out he was alive."

I remain quiet, processing all the information. I'm sure how to take it. "So what happens now?"

"Well I guess we have the element of surprise, Snow doesn't know that we know. We could play it to our advantage."

"I get that bit, but why now, after all these years?"

"I guess that he wanted us to believe that it was over, that we could start life again, before destroying it all over again."

We are approaching our house, and it is starting to get cold outside. Despite the sunny day today, winter is fast approaching. I open the front door, to see a room of faces; Haymitch, Johanna, Annie, Gale and Sae. Kane and Scarlett are on the couch fast asleep. Peeta closes the door behind me and I am comforted by the fact that I will be able to face this but it is going to be a long winter.


End file.
